Luke Walton

A woman has pleaded not guilty to stalking Lakers forward Luke Walton in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, 34, was arrested Sept. 18 after pulling up to his car and pretending to fire gunshots at him with her hand, police Sgt. Steve Tobias said. "When she pulled up to my house and started yelling at me after she fired a fake gun at me, I couldn't help but to start yelling back at her," Walton told the Orange County Register. "She was in my driveway. But when we were interacting, I could tell by the stuff she was saying that she's not all there in the head - which makes me feel bad for her. At the same time, most people who go on killing sprees are people who aren't all there in the head."

A woman has pleaded not guilty to stalking Lakers forward Luke Walton in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Stacy Elizabeth Beshear, 34, was arrested Sept. 18 after pulling up to his car and pretending to fire gunshots at him with her hand, police Sgt. Steve Tobias said. "When she pulled up to my house and started yelling at me after she fired a fake gun at me, I couldn't help but to start yelling back at her," Walton told the Orange County Register. "She was in my driveway. But when we were interacting, I could tell by the stuff she was saying that she's not all there in the head - which makes me feel bad for her. At the same time, most people who go on killing sprees are people who aren't all there in the head."

Site: McKale Center Time: 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 3 Series: UConn, 2-0 Last meeting: UConn, 71-69, Dec. 9, 2000. Northern exposure: Caron Butler was asked what kind of publicity Arizona received in the East. "A lot," he said. "I saw an article in the The Hartford Courant about Jason Gardner. That kind of had me heated. It said how good he was, which he is, but don't do it in my state." Of note: The game should feature some intriguing individual matchups for those fans of the game within the game.

Forget the long history of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. When Lakers coach Phil Jackson considers this year's NBA Finals, he can't help but think about the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes last summer. The Lakers tried to acquire Garnett from Minnesota, reportedly offering Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. But Kevin McHale sent Garnett to the Celtics instead. Now, the Lakers are facing Garnett in the Finals. "I just think that it's very interesting for our organization," Jackson said.

Forget the long history of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. When Lakers coach Phil Jackson considers this year's NBA Finals, he can't help but think about the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes last summer. The Lakers tried to acquire Garnett from Minnesota, reportedly offering Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. But Kevin McHale sent Garnett to the Celtics instead. Now, the Lakers are facing Garnett in the Finals. "I just think that it's very interesting for our organization," Jackson said.

Site: Metrodome, Minneapolis Time: 5:42 p.m. TV: Ch. 3 Of note: Michigan State returns to defend its national championship, joining an elite group by reaching a third consecutive Final Four. Only Duke (1988-92) and Kentucky (1996-98) have accomplished that since 1985. ... Spartans coach Tom Izzo ranks first among active coaches in NCAA Tournament winning percentage (minimum of 10 decisions). Izzo is 16-2 (.889). ... Michigan State has won 10 consecutive NCAA games and its last 16 games as the higher seed.

No. 8 UCLA (21-11) vs. No. 12 Missouri (23-11) How they got here: UCLA defeated No. 9 Mississippi 80-58 in the first round; defeated No. 1 Cincinnati 105-101 in double overtime in the second round. Missouri defeated No. 5 Miami (Fla.) 93-80 in the first round; defeated No. 4 Ohio State 83-67 in the second round. Breaking it down: UCLA shook the cobwebs of a poor stretch heading into the tournament by dominating Mississippi in the first round, then played the game of the tournament so far in disposing of the No. 1 Bearcats behind a career-high 26 points from Dan Gadzuric.

Kobe Bryant hits a big shot. Karl Malone is spit upon. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson take part in a shocking discussion of what's ailing the NBA. It has certainly not been an uneventful NBA Finals. But the distractions have not surpassed the events on the court. The series between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers has been unexpectedly enticing. The Pistons have been fearless and bold. The Lakers have been clueless and old. The Pistons have to get the credit for making the series interesting.

We could recruit our full scholarship load and include guys such as Mike Dunleavy of Duke and David West of Xavier. We could even include a center by adding Chris Marcus of Western Kentucky, but he missed 17 games this season and nobody else has a true big man. It's hard to keep 13 guys happy, so we've decided to go 10 deep. Every coach's bench shrinks just a little at tournament time. In addition to our Fantastic Five, here are five others who will command your attention during the NCAA Tournament.

Arizona coach Lute Olson doesn't seem too upset about the preseason polls that have selected his Wildcats as the team to beat. Olson's reaction is a bit scary. This is a coach who has been ranked No.1 before, only to downplay his team and ridicule the prognosticators. His acceptance this time around should be a warning to the rest of Division I. Arizona is so good, even Olson can't deny it. "We've never had the depth of athleticism that we have on this team," Olson said, referring to the three seniors, five sophomores and four freshmen.

Kobe Bryant has gone crazy -- in a good way. Dude is averaging 56.2 points in his last four games, and the Warriors better look out for some numbers getting dropped on them tonight at the Staples Center now that the Lakers' star is in the spotlight for something positive. Bryant's latest 50-point barrage came against the Hornets Friday night on the heels of putting half C-notes or more on Portland (65), Minnesota (50) and Memphis (60) to become only the second player in NBA history to go for 50 or more in four consecutive games.

Kobe Bryant hits a big shot. Karl Malone is spit upon. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson take part in a shocking discussion of what's ailing the NBA. It has certainly not been an uneventful NBA Finals. But the distractions have not surpassed the events on the court. The series between the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers has been unexpectedly enticing. The Pistons have been fearless and bold. The Lakers have been clueless and old. The Pistons have to get the credit for making the series interesting.

There won't be many players in the NCAA Tournament with more experience than Arizona point guard Jason Gardner. Gardner, a crafty 5-foot-10 senior from Indianapolis, has been a starter on three teams that were no worse than a No. 3 seed. The Wildcats (23-2, 15-1 Pac-10) are the top-ranked team in the country and have all but locked up a No. 1 seed. As the catalyst of arguably the deepest team in the country, Gardner has many thinking Arizona will be at the Final Four in New Orleans next month.

Arizona coach Lute Olson doesn't seem too upset about the preseason polls that have selected his Wildcats as the team to beat. Olson's reaction is a bit scary. This is a coach who has been ranked No.1 before, only to downplay his team and ridicule the prognosticators. His acceptance this time around should be a warning to the rest of Division I. Arizona is so good, even Olson can't deny it. "We've never had the depth of athleticism that we have on this team," Olson said, referring to the three seniors, five sophomores and four freshmen.

It's never too early to think about next season. Maryland is still celebrating its first national championship, so fires are burning somewhere in College Park. But across the land, coaches and players are lighting fires under themselves, trying to find the inspiration to get the job done next season. As always, there are five or six teams that would seem to have a better shot at following in Maryland's footsteps -- right now. Many things can change between now and next October, when practices begin again.

No. 8 UCLA (21-11) vs. No. 12 Missouri (23-11) How they got here: UCLA defeated No. 9 Mississippi 80-58 in the first round; defeated No. 1 Cincinnati 105-101 in double overtime in the second round. Missouri defeated No. 5 Miami (Fla.) 93-80 in the first round; defeated No. 4 Ohio State 83-67 in the second round. Breaking it down: UCLA shook the cobwebs of a poor stretch heading into the tournament by dominating Mississippi in the first round, then played the game of the tournament so far in disposing of the No. 1 Bearcats behind a career-high 26 points from Dan Gadzuric.

Arizona coach Lute Olson keeps reading he has the most talent in Division I. But he can't get the whole gang together because the NCAA keeps taking players away. And Olson is angry. He is ticked off that Richard Jefferson, starting forward for the Wildcats, has been ruled ineligible for at least one game for accepting plane fare and a ticket to Game 1 of last season's NBA Finals from Bill Walton. Jefferson was declared ineligible for Saturday night's 101-41 victory over St. Mary's.

We could recruit our full scholarship load and include guys such as Mike Dunleavy of Duke and David West of Xavier. We could even include a center by adding Chris Marcus of Western Kentucky, but he missed 17 games this season and nobody else has a true big man. It's hard to keep 13 guys happy, so we've decided to go 10 deep. Every coach's bench shrinks just a little at tournament time. In addition to our Fantastic Five, here are five others who will command your attention during the NCAA Tournament.

Site: McKale Center Time: 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 3 Series: UConn, 2-0 Last meeting: UConn, 71-69, Dec. 9, 2000. Northern exposure: Caron Butler was asked what kind of publicity Arizona received in the East. "A lot," he said. "I saw an article in the The Hartford Courant about Jason Gardner. That kind of had me heated. It said how good he was, which he is, but don't do it in my state." Of note: The game should feature some intriguing individual matchups for those fans of the game within the game.